


Veridis Quo

by orphan_account



Category: Batman - All Media Types, DCU, Detective Comics (Comics)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Artificial Intelligence, DC Comics Rebirth, Eventual Batfam fluff?????, Gen, Hologram!Tim, Self-Indulgent, bear with me
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-21
Updated: 2017-09-24
Packaged: 2019-01-01 06:23:04
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,099
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12150528
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Tim is gone and the Bats are left with nothing but his bo staff to mourn. Except thats not the only thing Red Robin left behind.-Story based on DC Rebirth after the """Death""" of Red Robin. Further exploring the idea of Tim having an A.I. of himself because that is so cool.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Title comes from the Daft Punk song Veridis Quo. You don't have to read Detective Comics for this, you just need to know Tim is presumed dead and roll with it.

The cave had been silent that night. The usual sounds of distant dripping were strangely missing; the bats were all nowhere to be found. Even the always present gentle hum of the machinery was still. The family had assembled, only the inner circle. It wasn’t a rule or anything, it was just to be expected after what had happened. What they had missed.

The others understood. Batman’s task force had felt the brunt of it just the same, but they understood. It was family to them, it was different.

Batman was sitting on his chair, a hand in his temple, the cowl still up shadowing his face. If a tear escaped the confines of the dark mask he didn’t acknowledge it. He had kept busy, after the entire ordeal, after Tim... He had kept busy, using the anger, the loss to drive him to will his own body to move and take the next step. Talk to Kane, confront Stephanie, tell everyone to head home. But now busy was over, now he was still.

Dick was to his side, his eyes were red but his breathing was even, he needed to be strong for everyone else, even though he felt weaker than ever. It never got easier. His hand rested on the back of the chair, his thumb memorizing the feeling of the leather.

Dick shook his head with a "No, thank you." to Alfred as the butler made his rounds, not for the first time asking if they needed anything. The older man looked older still, tired, as he nodded his head and excused himself to clean something or other. The cave was already clean.

With a tired sigh Dick glanced where Damian was sitting, kicking his legs calmly as his feet didn’t quite reach the ground. He had a crease in his brows as was usual to him. Dick didn’t know what was going through the teens head, as his and Tim’s relationship hadn’t been the best, but he was paying respect.

Jason didn’t show up.

The moment grew as time passed, none of them moving or talking or acknowledging the lonely and battered bo staff resting in one of the lab's tables. Until the bat-computer booted up on its own. The sound and new light source was met with startled flinches and confused blinks. Dick and Alfred exchanged a look before turning their attention to the screen.

"What's happening?" Asked Damian curiously, making his way closer to the command table. "Are we being infiltrated?"

Batman didn’t answer, his entire attention had shifted to face the lit screens. Busy was good. "This screen is different."

It was, instead of showing the usual login security it showed a bootsplash made of a loading bar, no recognizable logo to be seen.

"Its loading some sort of operating system?" Dick asked, half to himself. "How’s it even..."

The screen changed with a very familiar Windows XP startup sound. A green cursor bar blinking steadily on the top left of the now black screen. It blinked. And blinked. And then some.

And then it wrote.

"RR. Automated Protocol 436.  
Loading: \belfry\system52\miscon436.comm  
To cancel please enter password before: 99."

And it started counting down each second. It immediately sent the bats into high alert, Bruce hands flying over the keyboard attempting to disable the program. The computer had one of the most secure systems in the world, rivaling even those of the JLA. He didn’t know who had put such a thing in there but he had no frame of mind to deal with them at the moment. This was now and the countdown was at 85 already.

"What's... Jason?" Dick said suddenly.

Batman turned sharply to look at his son. Jason didn’t have the ability to breach their system, even less so remotely. It took him a second to notice Dick’s hands over his ear.

"Talk slower, I can’t understand..."

Bruce connected his own comm, glad to realize they were using the main frequency. Jason’s voice came fast and slurred.

"... said there’s some sort of shit goin’ on, i don’t know, swear i didn’t do nothing, i think, like suddenly just bam! Microsoft kicked my fucking eardrums in like i fucking needed a blast from the past today, i swear to god..."

"Jason." came Batman’s voice, steady and urgent. "Where are you?"

"The birds... the thingy he has, had, shit... past tense...”

"Jason, are you drunk?" Dick asked.

"Where are you?" Batman repeated, ignoring Damian’s scoff of "Of course he’s drunk."

"The branch... Cage... What? No. Nnnn... Nest! Nest is the word i was... looking for. I’m in the nest."

Dicks eyes widened in surprise. "Robins Nest? What are you doing there? How did you even find it?" The only people he was aware of that knew of its location were Alfred, Harper Row (somehow) and probably Batman.

"Describe the situation again." Batman cut again, the countdown kept going down but none of the things he tried were working.

"Black screen, I can’t actually read the words, give me a second... There’s like a countdown."

"Hnn. Whatever it is its probably targeting us on all points." Damian said.

Batman didn’t like that possibility. He could count on his hand the criminals that knew of, at least, Batman’s identity. However none of them fit the M.O.

"I suppose we are about to find out." Alfred said, his eyes sharply going over the numbers as it reached the single digits.

And then it wrote again. This time a fast sequence of commands began booting up, loading one after the other. A good few seconds later a new prompt appeared.

"Protocol initiated. Direct yourself to the following address to receive welcome message and setup: Belfry." Then it stopped, the cursor blinking solemnly on the screen.

And Batman was flying, Dick and Damian hot on his heel as he made his way to the closest and fastest Batmobile available.

"This could be a trap." Dick said nonchalantly.

"Yes."

"But were going anyways?"

"Hrm."

"Just making sure." he said, opening the copilot’s door, shocked to find Damian already seated.

"Uh-uh, Grayson. I believe the gun is my call."

"It’s adorable how you say things like this lil' D." He said with a wry smile, climbing to the back of the car.

"What’s going on?" Jason slurred in the comm, his voice a tad clearer than before.

"Were going to the Belfry, meet you there."

"Aye aye!" He could almost picture the mock salute.

Things felt almost normal, Dick noted sadly, that couldn’t be right.

They arrived without trouble, pointedly ignoring the layer of debris over the Belfry entrance. Jason met them a few minutes later, before they made their way to the lower level. Once again they found the computer booted up to the same screen, the only difference being the last sentence displayed. This one read "If you wish to continue press Y."

Batman pressed the key after a moment of hesitation, something in his gut was moving him at this point. He wasn’t much of a gut guy but it was all he had to go on at this point. And he was tired.

The screen turned off together with the lights of the room. A single blue stream of light coming from the ceiling above was projected to the center of the dark room. A shape started taking form through the static, some parts of it floated independently like dust in the sunlight. Cyan blue eyes blinked at them in an all familiar body.

"Holy shit, I’m never drinking again." Jason breathed his eyes wide as plates.

Batman was making his best impression of a Gotham gargoyle, his eyes fixed to those of the boy before him. The son he had lost not long ago.

The blue boy spoke, his voice was the same, the tone, the cadence, the verbal tics, unchanged. "Hello, I’m Protocol 436, created by Red Robin. An Artificial Intelligence based on Red Robin’s behavior to act in case he is no longer available." He recited, as if off as script. He was looking right past Batman’s shoulder and straight towards nothing in particular.

"Oh Tim..." Dick said. His hands were clenched hard to his sides but he felt Damian’s own wrap themselves around his. Damian wasn’t looking at Him or the projection, but Dick held him back. Dick didn’t know who the gesture was for, but he made sure to return it gratefully.

"What... Are you?" Batman growled. He was tense in front of this impostor.

It took a moment before the posture of the hologram relaxed, imitating that of Tim's. He looked at Batman confused. "I’m an Artificial Intelligence based on-" he started repeating before being cut off by Jason.

"This is such bullshit. Why the hell is this even a thing?"

The hologram turned to Jason and looked apologetic "Red Robin had many ongoing projects pending. He feared he wouldn’t be able to finish them, he is human after all. The protocol was written to have a snooze mode. He checked in at a certain time, failing to do so would start up the program on the premise he is no longer available." He paused. "He didn’t need it to be visible to complete his projects. However I was created as a medium to communicate outside the code, with you. In case you needed him."

In the middle of the hologram Tim's explanation, Bruce had begun to make his way out of the Belfry, the blue ghost following him with his eyes with uncertainty. Once he finished, Dick raised a hand, then lowered it "Listen, um..."

"For all intents and purposes you can call me Red Robin. Should that prove difficult a new nickname can be given."

"Listen, bud." He wasn’t going to call him that. He couldn’t. "This is all, dandy and all but, we had a long day and I don’t think now is... y’know?"

"Yeah." He said, startling Dick with how normal he sounded. "I get it."

"This is stupid." Damian said, giving a last look at the hologram before following after his father.

"Got to tell ya, D. This is pretty fucking bizarre, and I know about bizarre." Jason said, coming closer to the blue kid.

"We should go. Who knows how Bruce is taking all of this."

They started to make their way back before Tim’s voice came again, making them turn "Um!"

The hologram rubbed the back of his neck with a gloved hand, his head held down and it reminded Dick so much of the real Tim that he wanted to run out, to run and never to see this one again because it was too painful, too much of a reminder of what was lost.

"If... If you need me, just know I’m here." He paused and blinked, like it had forgotten it could. He looked up "If you need me. Just, say my name."

"Sure, thanks." Dick said before turning, hauling Jason by the arm. And he didn’t look back, even to notice the lonely entity in the unlit room, even when it waved goodbye while saying "I’m here for you.", even when he felt there was more meaning behind these words. He just wanted to get out.

And then Tim was alone in the dark.

 

 


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Real quick uhhh Spoilers to Detective Comics 943-946 kind of? Some of it is directly referenced.

They hadn’t taken it well, to look at a ghostly version of their recently deceased Robin. Who would have? It had happened so soon after, it felt like a sick joke fate had played them. Like he’d never been gone and it was haunting them. Tim’s ghost was haunting them and they refused to meet him, in fear of being judged for surviving.

The words "Red Robin" had quickly become taboo, inside and outside the Belfry. It wasn’t like they didn’t talk about Tim -except they didn’t- they thought of him all the time, constantly, however it was hard to think about him without remembering the Red Robin that was to this day, still waiting for them.

Sometimes they considered it, not collectively or consciously. Sometimes when Alfred cleaned his old room. Sometimes when Jason used the system he had built for him. Sometimes when Dick heard from his old friends in passing. Sometimes when they saw the case that held his memorial, his costume, back at the cave. Like a voice at the back of their head that reminded them they hadn’t lost all of him. Sometimes they even noticed how often they thought about Tim as a blue ghost rather than the boy they once knew.  But they smothered those thoughts. It isn’t the real one, just a copy, a fake, they often had to remind themselves.

So they didn’t call him, even when the need to give in was at its strongest. There was always something taking over their attention. Monster men and meta-humans in Gotham. Lost old friends coming back. New alliances being born. Always something, there was always something that was more important. But they never forgot it.

The first time Batman brought Luke Fox to the Belfry, he felt uneasy. The entire situation stunk, to be fair. A group of people had appeared, calling themselves the Victims Syndicate, victims of Batman’s own oversights. Too many things were reminding him of his mistakes, nowadays. This one was just the most recent. He needed to stop them. No, not stop them, that was the wrong word. He wanted to own up to it, at least this once, while he could.

He couldn’t do it alone, he needed his team. His _whole_ team. Alfred had suggested he spoke to the hologram. He hadn’t said it outright; however he implied it, in that overt way only he could. For Batman, for Bruce, that had never been an option.

It implied letting the rest of the team know about it. The family had come to an agreement to keep a tight lid on it. They told Alfred, of course, they couldn’t keep anything from the man as he’d eventually find out one way or another. But anyone else was out of question. He didn’t know how they’d react; he could make a pretty good guess. Kate would probably be indifferent, maybe shed even consider it as an asset. Basil would be confused. Cass... he didn’t know, they had been close before, Tim and Cass, but he didn’t know how close. Stephanie however, it’d be too much for her.

He found himself thinking how _he_ would feel. To use the A.I. as it wanted to be used. No matter what scenario he came up with, it was always the same answer. He just couldn’t. Stephanie had said it; Tim had wanted to have a normal life and Batman didn’t let him. Didn’t give him a way out. He didn’t have it in him to shackle him again, even if it wasn’t the real Tim.

Tim would have wanted him to move on just as he had wanted to move on. But why did it feel wrong to do so?

Batman tried to move on. This was him, moving on, as far as his guilt allowed him to. Luke Fox in the Belfry, fiddling with his machines, dissecting his genius, judging his decisions, taking the place at the table where Tim should have been. It was as far as Batman allowed himself to compromise. And hoped it was enough.

"How up to snuff is this computer?" Luke had asked, casually pointing at the rooms many screen covered walls.

Kate glanced at Batman, expecting him to answer. When he didn’t, she said "Might be more sophisticated than the ones at the Batcave." unsure, as she wasn’t as familiar with computers and the cave as the other two in front of her.

" _Might be_. So you dont know." Luke said. His grin was wide, he was onto them. Now he knew why he was even standing there in the first place. "This was Red Robin’s baby, wasn’t it? And you don’t know how it works."

Batman stiffened slightly. Batwoman wasn’t paying attention to him at the moment, she probably didn’t notice. He found himself glancing around the room, expecting the ghost of Tim to appear with an ill-intentioned "Boo!" behind his back. Dick had told them about the voice command. Just a mention of Red Robin would summon the hologram, or so it had said. They’d never tried.

But there was no spectral light, no blue skin, no fluttering of a cape that shouldn’t be anymore. The hologram didn’t appear and he felt a wave of relief that lasted just a second. He couldn’t have another scare like this; he shouldn’t even have left this issue alone in the first place. He’d have to confront it sooner or later.

But it wasn’t going to be soon. There was always something else that needed his immediate attention, after all. He owed it to the Victims Syndicate, his full attention. He focused on Luke’s and Kate’s voices now, he had work to do.

It had been several days later that he found the time to do what he should have done from the beginning. Their team had lost another member now, Batman didn’t blame Stephanie for leaving. He had just wanted to help, but that was never enough. Batman felt that was somehow fair, so he didn’t track her, even though both of them knew he could.

The Belfry was dark, dimmed windows shielded it against the light of the clouded Gotham sky and the sight of prying eyes. The lights were off, the rest of the team had already left with the first hints of dawn. Dick was trailing silently after Bruce, he could feel his eyes over him, and he was familiar with the sensation. It wasn’t the first time Dick had looked at him with these eyes, full of concern, fear that he might not be strong enough, but also trust, trust that Bruce would know what to do.

He hated those eyes. Because he felt the fear, too, but Dick was wrong, he didn’t know what to do.

With the click of a button the lights came on, and he steeled himself, giving himself time. No more stalling, he thought.

"Red Robin." He called out, almost surprised at the steady tone of his voice.

It appeared in front them in a blink of an eye, as if it had always been there. Cape fluttering gently in wind that didn’t exist. It looked exactly as he had that day, neat, composed, smart. Unharmed. Not a hair out of place. Even the way it held itself was just the same. It was a nigh perfect replica of the original. Except its complexion was blue and the whiteout lenses had never seemed more ghastly.

"I’m here." it said. The right voice coming out of the wrong lips. Blue lips. It wasn’t alive, wasn’t real.

Batman said nothing. The hologram looked at him with an awkward smile, before turning towards Dick with a tilt of his head. Dicks lenses met its own, but his attention was somewhere just behind the holograms head. Nightwing moved to place a hand over Batman’s shoulder, but with a gesture he stopped him.

He spoke again. "Why are you here?"

"This again?" it asked, playfully. "I’m a-" it started, before Bruce interrupted.

"I know what you ARE. I need to know WHY."

"Oh. _Ohh_. Well, I have two main directives, really. One, is to manage Red Robin’s pending and unfinished projects." it said, counting with its fingers. "Developing the Belfry is one of them, for example. The other one," he uncurled another finger "Is to communicate with all of you. I want to help you, that’s what Red Robin does." He lowered his hand, with a polite smile.

"No."

"No?"

"That’s wrong."

Dick exchanged a look with the hologram before he could catch himself. He turned to Bruce quickly.

"That’s not what Tim wanted. This is all wrong."

"I’m not sure I understand." The hologram said with a small voice.

"Tim, he," Dick said, before Bruce could get more worked up. "He wanted to go to college. Move on to other things. And you’re, well..."

"A contradiction, you shouldn’t exist, it doesn’t make sense."

The hologram didn’t flinch or recoil. Instead it crossed its arms and brought a hand to its lips, looking thoughtful. It hummed. "That’s weird. Whatever gave you that idea?"

Batman’s face was turning sour, Dick squeezed his shoulder and muttered something to Bruce. At the hologram, he said "What do you mean?" Dick said.

"I mean, that you have it all wrong. Red Robin, he’s not a quitter. He trusts that you know this. Not once did he regret putting on the costume and he wasn’t about to stop. The proof is all here, if you think about it."

"Here, as in..."

"Not the Belfry, Gotham. Red Robin’s hands were full with the Titans, but whenever he was needed he’d drop everything and come rushing back. College was going to be just the same, a means to an end, but not an end. He had many plans, but compared to you? He had a duty. That’s what I’ll do, too. If you’d let me."

Then, silence. No one moved as what the hologram said echoed in their minds over and over again. Eventually, it was Bruce who broke the spell.

"How do you know all this? How are you so sure?"

"I’m his consciousness, in a way." he shrugged then pointed at his face. "His mask basically had a neural receptor system built in. The data was stored and analyzed in order to create my thought processes. We’re connected. Everything he knew, I know. Everything he did, i can do. Everything he felt... I understand."

Batman turned around at this, however this time he didn’t leave. He slowly made his way to one of the chairs at the table and dropped heavily on it. It was a lot to take in.

Dick merely stood in place, looking now directly at the hologram, his brows were pulled together in a frown but under the mask his eyes were filled with curiosity, as if trying to put together a puzzle but all he had were sky pieces and no corners. It, or rather, he, looked back at Dick.

"Who can access this- you." said Bruce from where he was seated, correcting himself. He had understood, after all. He didn’t have to treat the hologram as his son, but he had dealt with enough robotic personalities to at least give some respect. He’d compromise, again.

"Well." he paused for a second, thinking. "You guys, Batwoman’s team... Did you ever come up with a name for that team anyways? I heard the command word earlier, but it was a voice my system didn’t recognize."

"They can’t know."

"The team? Why not?"

"You saw how _we_ reacted, no offense but you look like the Phantom of the Opera. They’d flip out" Dick said jokingly, and then he sobered up. "Especially Stephanie. Who knows how she’d take it."

"Stephanie already knows." The hologram said, matter-of-factly.

Bruce and Dick turned to him so fast it was a miracle their necks didn’t snap. "What?" Dick said, both alarmed and confused.

"Oh!" Tim’s hologram raised both hands in an attempt to appease them. "I don’t mean me! There was another one, a prototype." They stared at him, forcing him to elaborate. "Red Robin made a sort of... auto responder. It fed through conversations with him. His body was formed with the same material you can find in the mud room. Stephanie knew about that one, he showed her long ago. She visited recently to talk to it."

"What did they talk about?"

"Afraid I cannot say."

They understood what he meant. "Why didn’t she know about you?"

"Red Robin didn’t look it, but he wasn’t a pessimist. Best case scenario, he would have never used me. The auto responder was research to help develop my program. That’s all.'

"Are you made of-"

"No, Clayface’s material is too unstable. Taking it out of a secured room would be a difficult situation. It’s still being tested, anyways." He looked at Bruce who had been silent the entire time he and Dick spoke. He walked towards him and stood in front of him, two steps away. "I want to help, Batman." Not Bruce, never Bruce. Tim probably knew what that’d do to him. "Let me help."

Batman looked up at him. He didn’t nod or shook his head. But he held his gaze for the first time. And once again that night, Red Robin smiled.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I think theres only one chapter left of this, the way i sees it. hm hm hm.


End file.
